Ex-Governor Peter Odili

A deal brokered by Kwara State Governor, Bukola Saraki and President Musa Yar’Adua for indicted ex- Governors Peter Odili, James Ibori, Victor Attah and Lucky Igbinedion to return 70 percent of their stolen loots and be saved from prosecution may have crumbled. The Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC is said to have begun moves to prosecute them for embezzlement of public funds, money laundering and abuse of office in few days time.

This is coming on the heels of reports that Lucky Igbinedion and Victor Attah may have escaped the country while Odili is seriously considering an escape to a South American country. Igbinedion is rumored to be in hiding somewhere in London while Attah is said to be in the Caribbean where his wife is from.

Ibori and Odili are said to have used state funds to invest in the aviation industry, owning airlines and laundering several billions in foreign accounts. Igbinedion on his part is said to own one of the largest estate in South Africa using stolen funds and also laundering several billions in foreign accounts. Attah is also alleged to have inflated contracts running into several billions and laundering several Billions in the Caribbean.

The indicted South-South ex-Governors earlier had a sigh of relief when a truce brokered on their behalf by Saraki with President Yar’Adua would have seen them returning only 70 per cent of the money they had looted from their state treasuries. Ibori and few others had returned several Billions and forfeited some of their properties as part of the deal. Pointblanknews.com learnt that President Yar’Adua later had a change of mind and decided to prosecute his friends who had donated handsomely to his Presidential campaign for fear of being seeing as adopting ex-President Obasanjo’s selective style of justice. It was learnt that President Yar’Adua had consulted with some of his inner caucus members who pointedly drew his attention to the inherent dangers in leaving out some governors who are considered “beautiful brides” of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Sources hinted Pointblanknews.com that the inner caucus members had told President Yar’Adua that his administration stands to benefit positively should all the ex-Governors who have been indicted by the EFCC at various times given equal trials before the laws of the land.

Consequently, President Yar’Adua in a secret meeting had directed the EFCC boss, Nuhu Ribadu to immediately begin the process of prosecuting all the indicted ex-Governors who had hitherto pleaded with ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo to prevail on President Yar’Adua to spare of them of the embarrassment that could arise if they are publicly prosecuted.

A source at the EFCC told pointblanknews.com on the telephone that “everyone indicted would be prosecuted. No one is going to be spared and we have received mandates to apply the law on everyone found guilty for stealing public funds.”

Asked how soon the other e-x Governors would be brought to justice, the source who would not want to be named said “as I am talking with you now, we have almost concluded works on the files of other indicted politicians and soon we would move into action.”

However, pointblanknews.com learnt that the former Governors while pleading to be spared from prosecution had drawn the attention of ex-President Obasanjo and President Yar’Adua to their loyalty and several financial sacrifices to the PDP.